Need E93 Convertible center roof molding

[Mog-10]

I'm keeping them I have an e93 m3. Before he gave me the car I bought the pump for $20 and the convertible button for $15 . Trunk seal for $10. Now I have all the seals and they are all in good shape. Supposedly it was sema car. All that is left is a custom side skirt that is damaged.

[cloumeM]

Originally Posted by Mog-10

I'm keeping them I have an e93 m3. Before he gave me the car I bought the pump for $20 and the convertible button for $15 . Trunk seal for $10. Now I have all the seals and they are all in good shape. Supposedly it was sema car. All that is left is a custom side skirt that is damaged.

Good deal indeed!

[Le Patron1]

I need the rear trim that goes around the back window.

[Mog-10]

Originally Posted by Le Patron1

I need the rear trim that goes around the back window.

As much as I would like to help you with that shipping would be a pain for me.


https://www.ebay.com/itm/203574714052

[cloumeM]

I was able to remove the red tape I previously shared and replace it with black gorilla heavy duty tape. I am not certain if this will proof to be a good preventive measure, but I am hoping it will at least help prevent the spring from snapping out of the rail and completely deforming (or damaging the roof paint as seen/heard by others) when the plastic clips fail/break. The tape seems to be super sticky but not too thick which don't seem to interfere with the convertible mechanism. Also, because it isn't as thick as the red tape I removed, I was able to get a more clean install while covering greater surface area of the plastic rail/cover. In addition, there is a slight play to allow some flexibility while the opening/closing mechanism is in the process. I'll update the group if anything significant/noticeable happens (hopefully none).

If anyone decides to do this, these plastic pieces have some sliding play (towards the trunk and towards the front of car), so be sure to align the plastic rail in a correct position. If positioned too close to one or the other side, there will be a gap on opposite side which may cause too much water to flow into the groove where the metal rails set into when the top is completely closed.

[Mog-10]

I received a pm from a user asking about roof trim that is not accepting pm in return for some reason

an e93 bring parted out local to me

Check out this item on OfferUp. https://offerup.co/MH79AL9yZob

[masamune]

Originally Posted by cloumeM

Fortunately, I was able to bend the spring back into the metal rail piece by hooking the end of it between the metal rail and the plastic top piece. That is where I taped it over to hold the metal piece and plastic piece. You can see it as shown in the attached pic in the blue circle.

Also, the tape I used wasn't too thick but a bit on a stiffer side which is worrying me that they might prop off of the surfaces. Hence the reason for me wanting to replace them with more flexible and thinner tape, wide enough to cover the entire metal rail to completely wrap them and tape to the plastic piece (e.g., 3" ish wide black 3M tape). FYI, the red tape was from Home Depot, heavy duty 3M double tape.

I'm dealing with this same situation myself right now that I've been putting off getting repaired for the same reason mentioned by the OP. Attached is a pic from my car - is this easily salvageable on my own? It looks like the clip has broken off here as well which is why the dealer is necessitating that the trim piece be replaced and repainted. Trying to avoid a $900 bill for what looks like a seemingly innocuous part.

[cloumeM]

Originally Posted by masamune

I'm dealing with this same situation myself right now that I've been putting off getting repaired for the same reason mentioned by the OP. Attached is a pic from my car - is this easily salvageable on my own? It looks like the clip has broken off here as well which is why the dealer is necessitating that the trim piece be replaced and repainted. Trying to avoid a $900 bill for what looks like a seemingly innocuous part.

Oh boy, that is exactly what happened to me almost one year ago. After some researching on this topic, coupled with getting crazy expensive quotes (dealer and used parts from online sellers), I decided to do a homemade quick fix and have not had any issue since.

I bend the exposed metal enough to stay within the metal track, tape the metal track to the plastic piece, and also applied more of the tapes to the rest of metal track and plastic piece to improve the holding strength. So far, zero issues. BTW, I check the taped areas whenever I wash my car which is at least every other week.

[masamune]

Originally Posted by cloumeM

Oh boy, that is exactly what happened to me almost one year ago. After some researching on this topic, coupled with getting crazy expensive quotes (dealer and used parts from online sellers), I decided to do a homemade quick fix and have not had any issue since.

I bend the exposed metal enough to stay within the metal track, tape the metal track to the plastic piece, and also applied more of the tapes to the rest of metal track and plastic piece to improve the holding strength. So far, zero issues. BTW, I check the taped areas whenever I wash my car which is at least every other week.

Thanks for responding with this information, as it looks like you've had quite a bit of experience DIY'ing this. From what I can tell, this particular clip in that location (no matter right or left side) has been a common problem among the convertibles. Is the whole purpose of the metal latch/hook thing attached to the plastic clip (and thus the trim) to keep the trim down and sealed from water intrusion? Any issues with that with your fix?

Also, from your prior post I can see you taped over the metal track and connected to the plastic trim there. Did you tape anywhere else besides that, or is it just the one continuous piece in your picture? Appreciate the info as I will probably attempt this myself soon.

[cloumeM]

Originally Posted by masamune

Thanks for responding with this information, as it looks like you've had quite a bit of experience DIY'ing this. From what I can tell, this particular clip in that location (no matter right or left side) has been a common problem among the convertibles. Is the whole purpose of the metal latch/hook thing attached to the plastic clip (and thus the trim) to keep the trim down and sealed from water intrusion? Any issues with that with your fix?

Also, from your prior post I can see you taped over the metal track and connected to the plastic trim there. Did you tape anywhere else besides that, or is it just the one continuous piece in your picture? Appreciate the info as I will probably attempt this myself soon.

The purpose of the clip, from what I looked up and seeing them myself, is as you described. Not sure why BMW didn't make this a fixed set-up without the need for them having some play/flex, but I decided to do the taping based on some other car companies with similar setup with fixed fixtures for their convertible roofs. Zero issues so far and I tried to drive with my top down as much as I can even in pretty chilly temp with the seat heater on. Can't count how many times since the taping, but fairly often so the top mechanism is put to work.

I appiled the tape on both sides of all four clips on each metal rail/track and as many other areas as I could (curvature of metal track didn't allow me in some spots). So maybe 1 to 2 additional spots?

Hope this helps.

Btw, I tried a few different tapes and I found the gorilla tape worked the best (flexibility, adhesive strength, and perfect thickness). Sorry I wasn't able to find the packaging, but I picked it up from Home Depot and there was only one that looked like the picture below. These tapes were close to the paint section.

[masamune]

Originally Posted by cloumeM

The purpose of the clip, from what I looked up and seeing them myself, is as you described. Not sure why BMW didn't make this a fixed set-up without the need for them having some play/flex, but I decided to do the taping based on some other car companies with similar setup with fixed fixtures for their convertible roofs. Zero issues so far and I tried to drive with my top down as much as I can even in pretty chilly temp with the seat heater on. Can't count how many times since the taping, but fairly often so the top mechanism is put to work.

I appiled the tape on both sides of all four clips on each metal rail/track and as many other areas as I could (curvature of metal track didn't allow me in some spots). So maybe 1 to 2 additional spots?

Hope this helps.

Btw, I tried a few different tapes and I found the gorilla tape worked the best (flexibility, adhesive strength, and perfect thickness). Sorry I wasn't able to find the packaging, but I picked it up from Home Depot and there was only one that looked like the picture below. These tapes were close to the paint section.

I did it this past weekend and all seems to be well so far. I did change a few things, one being that with the loose metal latch where it was broken I just left dangling and opted to tape over it and leave it as is rather than bending it back behind the metal rail.

The other thing I did with the tape was used a spudger tool to push the tape where it goes over the side of the metal rail further inside the crevice to make better contact with the plastic trim piece. I also ended the tape there as I didn't want it to interfere with the gasket along the plastic trim piece to be on the safe side.

Anyway, thanks again for all the info and help!

[cloumeM]

Originally Posted by masamune

I did it this past weekend and all seems to be well so far. I did change a few things, one being that with the loose metal latch where it was broken I just left dangling and opted to tape over it and leave it as is rather than bending it back behind the metal rail.

The other thing I did with the tape was used a spudger tool to push the tape where it goes over the side of the metal rail further inside the crevice to make better contact with the plastic trim piece. I also ended the tape there as I didn't want it to interfere with the gasket along the plastic trim piece to be on the safe side.

Anyway, thanks again for all the info and help!

Sounds good! Hope all works well.

[victo]

Thanks for sharing, I have the same issue and plan to get that tape this weekend, I also ordered the plastic clips from FCP. I have one that was crushed beyond recognition. I used a twist tie to hold the spring down temporarily.